A petition calling for Covid tests to be made free of charge for fully vaccinated travellers is nearing its 150,000 signature target.
The Change.org petition, launched by S M Y, urges the government to make both PCR and lateral flow tests complimentary for travellers.
The government reintroduced restrictions in response to the rise of the Omicron variant, with pre-departure tests in resort now mandatory before holidaymakers returning to the UK and PCR tests required for all arrivals, who must isolate until they receive a negative result.
The petition, launched by a family who face spiralling testing costs for their holiday, argues: “You have made it mandatory, even for fully vaccinated travellers, yet you are forcing us to pay expensive private companies.
“We should not have to pay for this. If this is mandatory then we should be able to have the tests on the NHS.
“I know that I do not stand alone in this and we urge you to change the testing to make it easier for fully vaccinated people to travel.”
As of 9am on Friday December 17, the petition had amassed 144, 239 signatures. It is targeting 150,000.
The government has always insisted that NHS testing is not allowed for travel purposes since its first Covid restrictions were put in place.
The issue of tests was also discussed by the transport select committee on December 15, as MPs quizzed aviation minister Robert Courts.
Simon Jupp MP told the meeting that a Twitter poll by the committee found that 48.5% of respondents said testing costs are the biggest barrier they face in making plans to travel abroad.
Courts said the overall policy has been to move away from testing towards vaccination as the key requirement, although this has had to change because of Omicron.
He also said the Department of Health has carried out 2,100 price checks in the past three weeks and removed all tests under £15.
“There are tough penalties if they don’t follow the law,” he said.
“Overall the price of tests has reduced.”
When asked about whether free NHS tests could be used, he pointed out that a “significant proportion” of travel is discretionary.
“Should we be using public funds for the NHS to subsidise discretionary travel? It is something we would have to think very carefully about,” he said.
It comes as the former chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority said poor service from suppliers of PCR travel tests is “an issue of national significance”.
In an interview with the Guardian, Lord Andrew Tyrie called for a clean-up of the list of PCR test providers published on the government website, which many travellers consult before buying a kit.
He said customer reviews and performance scores, based on data such as complaint rates or the proportion of tests processed on time should be visible on the official website.